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Recently, Pearl Abyss started to release a series of videos covering various gameplay aspects of Crimson Desert, a highly anticipated open-world RPG coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam on March 19, 2026.
The first video explored the Crimson Desert's story and open-world exploration, while this one is focused on the combat and player progression systems, and they look absolutely nuts.
Throughout your adventures in Pywell, you will regularly get into fights with hordes of enemy soldiers, battle-hardened bosses, and gargantuan creatures hundreds of feet tall.
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To survive, you will need to defeat them using a hack-and-slash-style combat system that offers near limitless play styles to choose from.
You can dispatch enemies using traditional medieval weaponry like swords, greatswords, spears, and axes. Attack enemies from afar using ranged attacks via crossbows, guns, and magic spells, or brute force your way through with martial arts techniques and wrestling moves ripped straight from WWE.
You can also employ the mounts you normally use for transportation during combat, like siccing giant bears on enemies or blasting them to bits while riding a missile-firing mech.
Giant Swing enemies Cesaro-style (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)However, these weapons and techniques won't be available to you right away when you start the game. You will have to earn them by levelling up, purchasing gear from shops, crafting gear, and acquiring magical artifacts from defeating bosses, completing quests, and exploring the world.
You will also be able to customize gear's stats to fit your preferred play style better. What's more is that some of the abilities you can gain are taken from the bosses you slay, so you can use their power against tougher foes.
Undertaker eat your heart out. (Image credit: Pearl Abyss)I was already in awe of Crimson Desert's combat's system when I said it looked like a mix between Monster Hunter and Witcher 3, but now that we have a proper, detailed look at it with commentary from the developers, I'm completely sold now.
The number of ways you can counter, parry, and destroy enemies using all these weapons, magics, and wrestling moves looks insane. The latter, in particular, has me captivated as a fan of professional wrestling because it is so rare to see a fantasy RPG fully embrace a wrestling playstyle.
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We've got RKOs, DDTs, chokeslams, German Suplexes, and even Angle Slams made famous by the legendary Kurt Angle. I sincerely hope that Crimson Desert allows the players to use wrestling moves on non-humans because the idea of chokeslamming a giant monster like a dragon sounds hilariously awesome.
I can't wait to play this game when it comes out on Xbox in March (especially now that it's confirmed to have Xbox Play Anywhere support), but in the time before, we'll keep an eye out for the third and final video of Crimson Desert's showcases to see what else Pearl Abyss has in store for this ambitious title.
Does Crimson Desert's combat system look exciting to you? What playstyle will you take up if you decide to play it?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, let us know in the comments below.
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